Dark Blizzard
by Mistah K
Summary: Aayla Secura returns to her home planet Ryloth to investigate an assassination attempt on the Chancellor. Things get out of hand and Aayla is caught up in a world of violence and horror. R&R plz! FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER! Thanks for all the reviews everyone.
1. Chapter 1: Assassin

**Chapter One: Assassin**

A lone Twi'lek male climbed stealthily up the side of the Senate building, swift as a hawk bat in flight, his blue skin and his tentacles wrapped around his neck hidden by both a cloacking device and the darkness of the night. He bypassed security measures with the careful ease of a trained professional.

The Twi'lek reached the window to the sleeping quarters of supreme chancellor Palpatine. He raised his laser cutter, one hand cemented to the window with a specialized glove. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. One wrong move and it would all be over.

A perfect circle of reinforced glass fell away from the window. The twi'lek caught it before it hit the ground. He saw the Chancellor, sleeping in his bed, submerged in his sinth-cloth quilt. With a sinister smile the assassin pulled out a lightsaber from his cloak. A spear of blue light grew from the emitter and the assassin raised the blade over Palpatine. It would all be over, all his hardships in a few seconds. The blade burned a searing hole through the blanket. Smoke curled up as the smell of burning cloth filled the room. The assassin breathed a sigh of relief. He had succeeded.

A frail looking old man came from behind him. He looked like he had just gotten up from bed to get a glass of water. He stared open mouthed at the would-be assassin. It was the Chancellor. The Twi'lek had assassinated a pillow.

'GUARDS!'

His cry echoed through the entire building. The doors burst open, Red Guards rushing through with desperate speed. The assassin panicked and slashed wildly, blade slicing through one of the guards Force pike. But the other guard was already angling his pike towards the intruder's head. He dipped backwards, barely avoiding the tip of the deadly weapon. He back flipped out the window, into the Coruscanti night, before the guards could react again. The assassin disappeared.

He ran across the rooftops with desperate speed. His mission had failed. And among his clan, the punishment for failure was death. He ran knowing full well that he was being pursued. He jumped across to the next rooftop and looked over his shoulder to check if he was being followed. He turned his head back forwards and it collided with a fist. The assassin crashed to the hard rooftop, his tight grip on his lightsaber broke. The blade rolled off of the roof and down to the ground below.

Jedi Master Mace Windu stood over him, lightsaber pointed at his throat.

'You are under arrest for the attempted assassination of Chancellor Palpatine. You will accompany me to the Jedi Temple. Or else.'

_**00000000000000000000**_

_Aayla stood atop a mountain of ice, surrounded by nothingness, pure black and empty. The cold biting windwhisked around her, sending a chill crawling up her spine. The wind was whispering to her, in a quiet, cold, yet so persuasive voice. It whispered into her ear, tempting her with all of her deepest desires, some she didn't know she even had, couldn't have. Aayla tried to ignore the voices, tried to ignore the calling of the darkness that she knew would come if she gave in. But the more she shut it out, the louder the wind became. It grew in power, grew louder, until it was a howling blizzard of shadows. Around her, the shadows of nothingness began taking shape, the Jedi Temple, her lightsaber...Kit...If she just reached out she could have them all...discipline, power...love. All she had to do was reach out and take them...No. She couldn't. Temptation, lust, desire, they were all against the Jedi Code. Against everything she stood for. She had given in once, and it wuld not happen again. Sighing, Aayla shook her head and remained still. Then, one by one, the images shattered. A burst of wind and ice unsteadied Aayla and she slipped, losing her balance. She windmilled with her arms desperately, trying to stay on the precarious peak of the mountain of ice. Then...she fell. _

Aayla Secura awoke gasping in a lungful of air. Sweat trickled down the Twi'lek jedi's smooth blue skin down onto her bed. She sat up shivering. She had had the dream once before, when she pushed her Uncle Pol off of the balcony.

A knock resounded from her door. 'Enter' sighed Aayla.

The door slid open with a hiss and her friend and Jedi Council member, Kit Fisto walked quietly in. The Nautolan Jedi Master lingered near the doorway slightly embarrassed for walking in on Aayla at such an early hour.

'I am sorry for the disturbance Aayla, but the Council has called for your presence, there has been an assassination attempt on the Chancellor'

Aayla's face mirrored horror.

'I understand Kit. Just let me get dressed and I'll be there,'

Kit nodded and walked out, the door closing behind him.

Aayla shook of the covers and slipped cat-like of her bed and landed on her feet onto the floor. Aayla like most Twi'lek females, was very attractive. But even for a Twi'lek, Aayla was considered extremely beautiful. She had a slender shapely figure with well toned muscles in her smooth blue skin and a sharp, intelligent face. Her head tentacles, lekku curved elegantly down her head and below her shoulders. But unlike most Twi'lek females, she carried a lightsaber, which usually put off most of her admirers.

She slipped off her white night dress and shuddered as the cold air bit at her naked skin. Aayla shrugged the unusually chilly air off and began to put on her usual brown top and brown leather tights. She bound her lekku and sucked in another deep breath before walking out the door. She felt as if a terrible series of events was about to take place. In short, she had 'a bad feeling'.

Aayla and Kit stood in front of the two senior members of the Jedi Council. Master Yoda and Master Windu. Yoda was an enigmatic old Jedi, over 900 years old in fact. He was barely three feet tall and his wrinkled skin and huge eyes and ears hardly made him an imposing sight. But his eyes showed you centuries of knowledge and a deep understanding of the Force. Mace Windu was a strange contrast to the frail old Yoda. The Korun Jedi master's skin was a deep brown and his scalp clean shaven. He was a tall imposing figure, with a deep frown on his face and an aura of resilience and strength that made him seem indestructible. Despite their differences, the pair seemed to go together.

'Master Secura, Master Fisto, these are dark times. Master Secura, I trust that Kit informed you of the circumstances?' said Mace. Aayla nodded, but a question escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

'With all due respect Masters, why did you call me? Judging by the absence of all other Council members, I would think that this is a secret matter not to be discussed by non-council members.'

'Always to the point you are, Aayla,' smiled Yoda. 'Caught the assassin we have. And the reason we have called you is that the assassin, is a Twi'ek. One of your species, I believe.'

'But Master, there are other Twi'lek jedi. Why specifically me?' There was a hint of distress in Aayla's voice. Normally, she would have accepted the mission without question, but she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She felt in her gut that if she went back to Ryloth, she would meet her end their. 'Perhaps see the assassin you should. Question him we did. He says thathe will only answer toAayla Secura. You.' said Yoda.

'The assassin is in the meditation room, Guarded by two Knights. Perhaps you would like to meet him?' asked Mace. Aayla nodded, breathless. 'We will all go then.'

Aayla followed Mace along the hall ways, deep in thought. _How could he know my name?_ she thought to herself. The doors to the meditation room slid open. What was inside drew a gasp from Aayla. The two knights lay unconscious. The window had been destroyed by what seemed to be an explosion of some sort and a sleek silver speeder hovered their. A twi'lek male stood atop it, holding one of the knights blue lightsabers. The twi'lek male inside bore a striking resemblance to Aayla's uncle, Pol Secura. Their eyes met for a second before the speeder flew off into the night.

Without thinking, Aayla leapt out the window after it.


	2. Chapter 2: Cirus

**Chapter Two**

Aayla flew through the air for what seemed like an eternity. She reached for the speeder. And missed. The speeder was out of her reach. Free falling, inwardly cursing herself for her stupidity, Aayla reached out through the Force, searching for a way to survive.

Aayla angled herself forward angling herself towards a bright yellow taxi speeder. She landed heavily on the roof, almost winding herself. The human inside screamed, trying to shake the Jedi Master off. Gasping for breath, Aayla pulled her lightsaber from her belt. She angled it downwards and a blue fountain of energy shot out. She moved the blade in a circular motion, carving a hole in the roof and dropping in.

'I'm sorry for the inconvenience sir, but I'm commandeering this vehicle,' With a push of the Force she sent the driver hurtling out the side and onto the roof of a building.

_Of all the times I could lose my sanity, why now?_ Aayla asked herself. She reached out through the Force again, searching for the assassin. She didn't have to. They found her. The silver speeder came up from behind Aayla's hijacked taxi like a Correllian Viper. And opened fire. Aayla cursed and swerved wildly trying desperately to evade the hail of blaster fire. She jerked the controls left and made a sharp turn round a building then pulled down into a steep dive. The speeder matched her moves effortlessly, never faltering. And it was gaining on her.

Aayla's ship rocked unsteadily as a a bolt nicked it. She gritted her teeth. Her mount was severely outclassed. _Damnit! I need to land, I can't win with a taxi against their speeder. _She went down into another dive aiming to land on a nearby rooftop. BANG! An explosion of flame, a direct hit sent here corkscrewing downwards. Aayla pulled up desperately trying to regain control. And she crashed.

The speeder collided into the revolving top of a tower. An opera performance was being held and the singer was busting out a high note when Aayla's speeder crashed through the wall in an explosion of glass, durasteel and flame.

Needless to say, that high note reached a whole new level.

Aayla crawled out through the windshield of the burning wreck. She collapsed onto the ground, breath coming in short gasps. Her hand went to her side, blood flowing from a deep wound. Her vision was starting to blur. Civilians ran scattered around, screaming, trampling each other as they rushed towards the exit doors. And the glass wall in front of her exploded. The silver speeder hovered in and landed softly. Aayla's lightsaber flew to her hand and ignited. The speeder door flipped open and the Twi'lek assassin calmly stepped out. He _did _look like Pol. But he was different. Much taller, easily 7 feet tall, lean and heavily muscled. He looked like Pol 20 years ago. And darkness emanated from his eyes.

'Ah, hello little cousin. It's me Cirus. Don't you remember? How long has it been? I've lost count. But one thing I am sure of. I will make you pay for killing my father. Your Uncle Pol Secura.'

Through the shock of his statement, Aayla noticed in the back of her mind, that unlike most Twi'leks, Cirus spoke Basic fluently with a slight hint of a Coruscanti accent.

'That…that's impossible…Pol didn't have a son….,' Rasped Aayla.

'Ah, but he did. After mother was taken by Jabba the Hutt, Father couldn't bear to have me around. I was a blight on his good name. Not wanting to cause more pain, I ran away to the night side, where I could be alone. And I met some very interesting individuals.'

For a moment, Aayla felt a wave of pity wash over her, and her face softened slightly, but she pushed the pity away, hiding it deep in her heart. He was a criminal and she needed to show no mercy. Then there could be time for pity.

A lightsaber handgrip flipped out of his cloak and into his hand. One of the Jedi Knight's lightsabers. A sky blue blade ignited. 'Shall we begin?' With a malicious smile, he lunged.

Aayla barely met his strike her arm bending backwards from the strength of the blow. Their blades locked for a second, crackling with energy, before she dodged back, spinning round for a counter strike. She ducked under his follow up slash and sliced here own blade at the back of his head. Cirus parried the slash whirling to the side and swung a quick slash at her legs. Aayla jumped over the shot, flipping over Cirus' head, but he was already there, blade held out, reaching for her.

Aayla turned it away from her with her own blade and backpedaled furiously, blocking a hail of lighting blue stabs, her blue blade flashing in a defensive velocity, countering each one of Cirus' strokes. A cage of blue light flashed around the two dueling twi'leks. They wove in and out of each other, whirling and slashing, a deadly dance that only one could survive.

Cirus was relentless, his attacks hammering against Aayla's guard, finding her every time she dodged and evaded him. Blunt and to the point, he used the simplest moves and added an amazing amount of power and effortless control and speed. Aayla held her own, fighting with the natural grace gifted to her species, moving like a dancer, swaying in and out, ducking, dodging and striking with blinding speed and precision. But it just wasn't enough. Cirus was slowly gaining the upper hand.

Cirus kicked Aayla back and pressed his attack. Aayla parried his slash and spun her blade in an arc, forcing his blade away. She went for an ankle sweep, but Cirus easily jumped over it and stabbed down at Aayla. She barely managed to roll away and sprang to her feet, chopping at Cirus' neck in the same movement. He turned away Aayla's backhand with one arm, and used the other to punch at Aayla. She used her free hand to grab him by the wrist, their blades still locked together at the side. For a moment they struggled, wrestling for control, then Cirus, with arms and blades still locked, hurled Aayla back using both his body and the Force, and slammed her into the side of his speeder.

Aayla's breath left her and her lightsaber clattered to the floor. Cirus stabbed his blade at Aayla but she moved to the left slightly and the blade was buried deep into the speeders side. He tried to move it out but Aayla wrapped her arm around his, keeping it locked there. He tried to wrench his arm free but Aayla held on for dear life and thrust her elbow into his chin. Instead of pulling back, Cirus slammed his shoulder forward into Aayla's stomach, lifting Aayla's feet of the ground and crushing her to the pod. Aayla cried out in pain as her abdomen was crushed. He wedged his forearm into her stomach, keeping her in the air, legs dangling. Cirus tilted his head forward whispering into Aayla's ear.

'Is this the best you can do Aayla? After years of training, I would have thought you had gained some skill. Besides murder of course.'

Desperate, her voice going thin with strain, Aayla said, 'We don't have to fight Cirus! I don't condone what I did, but I have learnt that vengeance is a path that will only lead to suffering! We need to talk!'

With a feral roar of rage, Cirus pushed Aayla up against the speeder harder. Blood bubbled out of Aayla's mouth as her ribs were slowly crushed together. She jerked her knee up into Cirus' stomach. He grunted and replied with a savage headbutt that opened up a gash above Aayla's left eye, blood trickled down her face. She went limp, her eyes rolled backwards, in another galaxy of pain. Cirus smiled and tilted his head back for another headbutt. However he fell away and released Aayla, howling and clutching at his groin. Aayla had fired her knee again, but this time in between his legs. Aayla collapsed to the ground, sucking in breaths of air desperately. She slowly got to her feet and put a hand on the speeder to steady herself.

She couldn't keep this up much longer. Cirus was like no one she had ever faced before. His sheer power was massive, each strike took all of Aayla's strength to return, and his Force aura was brimming with the dark side. But he wasn't using the Dark. It was using him. He was the victim.

Cirus raised his arm, still doubled over with pain, and a long, heavy durasteel table powered by the Force slid across the floor towards Aayla, leaning against the speeder. She jumped up and landed on the table just as it collided with the side of the speeder, visibly denting it with an impact that would have cut her in half.

Cirus' blade flashed out and cut off twolegs of the table in a single swipe. It pitched forward and Aayla slid down. Towards Cirus' deadly saber. However, on her last legs, she used the Force to speed up her slide and she used the momentum to drive her boot right against Cirus' face, flipping him backwards.

Wasting no time, a surge of the force sent her lightsaber flipping to her hand, bringing it to life, and another carried Aayla over Cirus' head and onto the hovering stage in the center of the room. Cirus landed on his feet from the kick in perfect balance. He stared up at Aayla mockingly.

'Will you ever learn that running does you no good?' there was hint of anger in his voice.

Cirus leapt corkscrewing in the air towards Aayla, blade held in front of him. She swung her lightsaber intending to sever Cirus' head in mid air but a nudge of the Force bent him under the blade and he dived forward rolling to his feet on the hovering platform.

Aayla raised her blade to strike again but an explosion of agony coursed through her and her legs no longer seemed to be able to support her weight. She crumpled to the ground. Aayla gasped as she hit the ground and looked down at her leg. _What the-? _While rolling, Cirus had gashed Aayla's leg. A deep smoking cut ran along her right leg from her thigh to her ankle. Aayla opened her mouth in a silent gasp. _Oh. _Through a haze of blinding pain, she saw Cirus stood over her panting.

'You will never realize how long I have waited for this.' He said softly, almost mournfully. Aayla closed her eyes as his sapphire blade plunged towards her throat.

SLASH! A green lightsaber flew through the air liking a whirling missile and struck Cirus' saber hand centimeters before it reached Aayla. Cirus' hand fell to the ground, smoking. A howl of pain erupted from Cirus and he collapsed to his knees. Kit Fisto's blade spun back into his hand as he leapt into the scene.

'Aayla, are you alright? What happened?'

Aayla was beyond hearing. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Cirus severed hand still holding his lightsaber. Then darkness took control.

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

-**Suggestions and review please, and yes I know I suck at car chases**


	3. Chapter 3: Mission To Ryloth

**Chapter 3**

_Aayla was falling. As she fell, plunging through the darkness, guilt stung her like a blaster bolt. It was her fault. Aayla had created that monster. Created what was now Cirus Secura. He was right. She was a murderer. The shadows began taking shape all around her, but this time, it wasn't Aayla's desires that came to life, it was her fears, her guilt. A shadow materialized in front of her. Theothersbegan circling around her as she fell, a tornado, a blizzard of everything she dreaded. She reached out to touch the shadow and it became Pol Secura's face, or was it Cirus'? It was calling for her. Calling for redemption. The dark was calling. In Ryloth, in the dark side, she would find her destiny. She had to pay._

Aayla awoke and found herself in a bed in the Temple infirmary. Everything hurt. The dream was different. More clear. Aayla now understood. Going to Ryloth was the only way. Something big, something _evil_ was brewing in the Force. And she had to stop it.

Aayla's vision gradually returned to her and her eyes focused on the concerned face of Kit Fisto looming over head. His face split into a grin as she awoke.

'Aayla!' Kit wrapped his arms around her tightly. Embarrassed, Aayla gently pushed him away and sat up.

'Kit? What happened? Where's Cirus?'

Kit's smile faltered and he motioned to the bed next to her's. Cirus lay there, unconscious, medical droids attaching a prosthetic hand where his real one had been cut off.

Another voice, Mace Windu's, 'Even when Master Fisto relieved him of his hand, he still wouldn't come quietly. We had to subdue him,' Mace grimaced. 'Forcefully.'

Now Master Yoda spoke, 'I take it, know him you did?'

Aayla shook her head. 'No. But he is Pol Secura's son. My cousin. And one of the most skilled duelists I've ever battled. We have to find out where he learned his skills and his mastery of the Force. I have to go to Ryloth.' Aayla tried to get up but a fierce pain in her leg andribs made her gasp. Kit set her down gently.

'We understand,' Said Yoda softly. 'But rest you must. Injure you, he did. Patience.'

'Master Yoda, with all due respect, something dark is clouding the Force. More than usual I mean. And this darkness, I feel it coming from Ryloth. I feel it planning. Growing in strength. We can't waste anytime.'

Master Windu spoke again. 'Master Secura, Aayla. We need time to think. A Jedi shouldn't be making decisions like this so quickly. It's too hasty. Too reckless. We need to question your cousin to find out if there are more assassins in Coruscant. How many of them there are. Where he learnt his skills. Then, if we have found enough information, we will send you among a team of Jedi on an expedition to Ryloth.'

Yoda nodded solemnly to this but Kit brushed a hand through his tentacles, looking troubled. Knowing there was no arguing with the Council, Aayla decided that she wouldn't need to. She had to take matters into her own hands. She had to do this alone.

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Reth Hi'Shaa, one of the Jedi who had guarded Cirus Secura when he escaped, paced outside his holding cell nervously. The Weequay Jedi had no desire to once again feel the Twi'lek's fist.

Aayla Secura came around a corner toward him, her foot steps echoed hollowly through the hallway. Her injuries had been treated to but Aayla still walked with a slight limp and had a grimace of pain etched on her face. 'Aayla, how are you feeling?' inquired Reth.

'I'm sorry' Aayla said softly and she span and kicked Reth hard in the throat. He fell unconscious to the floor and Aayla looked mournfully down at the Jedi. She keyed her access code into the door and it slid open with a soft hiss. Aayla sighed. The Council would have her head for this. Even if she was right.

Cirus Secura lay inside, his arms and legs bound together with electro-cuffs. Rage smoldered in his eyes as Aayla entered. A snarl formed on his face but whatever he was going to say was cut off as Aayla had chopped down her hand with lethal efficiency across his neck. Cirus' eyes closed.

Aayla hoisted him up onto her shoulder straining under his weight. Her leg gave a twinge of pain but she shifted her weight and walked out through the door.

Luckily, thanks to the war, most Jedi were out of the temple, so Aayla was undisturbed as she ran along the halls to the hangar. A gleaming cruiser ship that she had pre prepared stood in front of her. The cruiser was small and fast, made for stealth and speed. Perfect. The ramp lowered and she rushed up. The Council was currently holding a meeting to discuss what actions would be taken about the current situation.

Aayla opened the storage area door and dumped Cirus unceremoniously inside. She walked to the bridge and started up the ship and punched in the coordinated for Ryloth. She sat down into the chair, eyes closed, as if in pain. A voice came from behind her, 'Hello Aayla.'

Aayla was up in a fraction of a second, her blade already flaring to life. And it was pointed at Kit Fisto.

'I knew you would come. So I got leave from the Council meeting and hid here.'

'Did you tell them about what I plan to do?' There was a hint of threat in Aayla's voice. The ship was already taking off.

'No. I trust you judgment Aayla. We must go to Ryloth. And I'm coming with you.'

Aayla let loose a sigh of resignation.

'You may come to regret it Kit.'

Aayla's blade shrank back into the handgrip and her arms lay slack at her side. The comm. sounded, 'You do not have clearance for this flight Plea-…'Aayla turned it off. They were now out of Coruscant atmosphere.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryloth was in sight.

Ryloth was an Outer Rim planet, the home planet of Twi'leks. Because of the nature of Ryloth's orbit around its primary, one side of the planet always faced its star. This resulted in the temperature on the day side being very high, and the evening temperature being very cold. The day side, was a harsh burning desert, the night side a freezing tundra of ice crystals. Stretching from pole to pole between these regions was the twilight realm - a thin habitable border between the two extremes. Here, the Twi'Leks lived in a clan based society in a series of caverns and underground cities to avoid the harsh Ryloth weather and firestorms.

Inside, Kit and Aayla sat apart from each other in silence. In a cracking voice, Aayla broke the silence and began to speak softly, almost a whisper.

'Kit, I…I forgot to say thank you for saving my life back there. Again. I'd just like to say that…that I'm glad to have you here with me. Thanks.'

Embarrassed Kit stood up and began pacing restlessly. He replied, 'I have to say thank you too Aayla…I know that you would have done the same for me… and…' Kit drew closer to Aayla until their faces were almost touching.

'I've never felt about someone, as I have you Aayla.'

Aayla moved closer to Kit, their faces where centimeters apart. Aayla could feel Kit's hot breath on her face and her heart pounding.

'Kit….Kit, we shouldn't be doing this….it's against the Jedi code….and you're a member of the Jedi Council, a master…'

Kit drew even closer. 'Not now. Right now, I'm not a Jedi Master. Not a member of the Council. I'm just Kit. Just Kit.'

Their moment was cut short as the comm. once again crackled to life and Aayla and Kit drew apart embarrassedly. A heavily armed gun ship flew up to the side of their cruiser. A Devaronian male, blood red skin and horns protruding from his head appeared on the screen. Though Devaronian males were usually docile by nature, Aayla new from experience that this wasn't always the case and judging from the devilish apparition on the screen this Devaronian was far from docile.

'I have recently acquired information that you have in your ship, none other than Cirus Secura.'

Not bothering to answer his question, Aayla said, 'Who are you? And who is this Cirus Secura?

An ugly snarl twisted the Devaronian's face. 'Watch your tongue wench. I am the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, Wrath Maer! And don't try lying missy, you two fit the exact description. A basic speaking female Twi'lek traveling with a Nautolan. Not a sight you see everyday. An exceptionally high bounty has been placed on the head of Cirus Secura. By Jabba the Hutt.'

Aayla's expression of calm began to change into one of rage at the mention of the infamous Hutt's name. Jabba was one of the most notorious slavers in the galaxy. And he had a penchant for female Twi'leks.

Kit threw a glance at Aayla. He had a bad feeling that she was going to do something they would both regret later. 'Aayla…'

Wrath smiled. 'Ah, I see you recognize the name. Young Secura seems to have freed several of Jabba's most prized slaves and killed a great number of guards. And you should know that if you don't hand in Secura now, I'm gonna personally hand you in to Jabba. I'm sure he'll find you very….tasty.'

Aayla rose from her seat. 'We're not handing over anything. Especially not to a horned worm like you. And one more thing. You can tell Jabba the Hutt that he can shove his bounty straight up his-…'

Wrath snarled in fury. 'Open Fire!' The screen went blank.

Before they could get a chance, Aayla fired the engines full power, and they shot forward leaving the gun ship behind. Their cruiser was much faster than the gunship but had little to no fire power. The gun ships opened fire and Aayla steered the ship, dodging and strafing through a cloud of blaster fire.

'Aayla, I'm not sure that goading Wrath was a very good idea…' said Kit quietly.

Aayla gritted her teeth. 'You have a better idea?' Their ship looped around a floating meteor, narrowly avoiding a proton torpedo. The meteor exploded into a million pieces.

'Uh oh. They've locked on.' Aayla corkscrewed through the air, they had to get into the Ryloth atmosphere. Two missiles ejected from the gun ship. And sped towards them.

'Let's try something new. I learnt this little trick from Obi Wan Kenobi.' Said Aayla quietly to herself.

The missiles were drawing nearer and they were almost in the atmosphere. The ravaged, light and dark planet Ryloth loomed nearer. Aayla ground her teeth together and pulled the ship into a dive.

'Do you know what your doing?' asked Kit nervously.

'One'

The missiles were speeding up.

'Two'

Mere meters away.

'Three!'

Aayla ejected the spare parts from the back of the cruiser. The debris collided with one missile and it exploded into firey light. But one kept going. It hit their cruiser. The gun ship pulled away, satisfied.

'Damn. Buckle up Kit. We're in for a bumpy ride.'

The cruiser's direction went crazy and corkscrewed down into Ryloth atmosphere. Towards the dark side of the planet. Into the night.

Aayla tried to keep the ship steady, the ship was heating up, fire surrounding it as it vibrated down through the air. The ground was drawing nearer. For a moment the night side was revealed to her eyes in the fire of the ship. The land was completely covered in a sheet of ice, strange and beautiful crystal plants glowed luminously in the darkness. Then the ice and snow rushed up to meet them. Aayla tried to pull up desperately but it was useless. They crashed in an explosion of snow and darkness.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yeah I know another crappy chase scene. But it was neccessary for the story. Meh. Big action in the next chapters! Reviews and suggestions please!


	4. Chapter 4: Creatures of the Night

**Chapter 3**

The ship lay in a crater of melted snow and ice, still burning. The durasteel paneling was dented and twisted beyond repair, the twin engines at the sides had snapped off completely. The superheated metal seemed to shriek in pain, as parts of the ship began to sag inwards from the heat.

Aayla lay slumped against the control panel, half conscious. The world was a daze of fire and ice. She slowly pulled herself up, ignoring the flashes of pain,and crawled off the seat. The air was burning up, Aayla felt it crisp her skin, she was drenched in sweat. Kit was sprawled on the ground, blood trailing down from a cut on his forehead, his eyes flickered open. Aayla crawled over to him, coughing.

Kit groaned and shook his head groggily.

'That. Was the most stupid thing I've ever seen you do.'

Aayla shrugged and said, 'We have to get out of here or we'll be cooked alive.'

In an instant, her blade was in her hand and ignited. She cut a rectangular hole in the wall and kicked it open. A gale of sub-zero wind blew inside. A contrast to the sweltering heat inside the ship. Aayla looked out at the wall of darkness, lit by the glow of the crystal plants. _I should have put on another layer,_ Aayla thought to herself as she clipped her handgrip back onto her belt.

She shivered in the freezing cold. Her leather tights and brown leather tank top wasn't exactly suited to the night side of Ryloth. The temperature in the Nightlands were the exact opposite of the Brightlands. Sub-zero. Aayla raised her hand into the light of her saber. The cold was already taking its toll. Her arm shivered uncontrollably, small icicles forming on it. She ignored it and supported a struggling Kit through the hole and lay him down in the snow.

'Stay here, I'm going back to get Cirus.' Aayla disappeared back into the inferno of flame that was once a ship.

She moved through the smoke and covered her mouth to stifle a cough. Aayla ran her hand across the floor and grabbed a big filled with food squares. Aayla fumbled across the wall and punched in the code to open the storage door. It slide open and a blue fist shot out of the darkness, colliding with her face. Cirus was free.

He leapt out of the hole in the door, running across the snow. But Kit tackled him down at the legs. They brawled wildly in the darkness, snow flying everywhere. Cirus kicked Kit off and sent him crashing to the ground with a quick snapping kick. Cirus closed his hand around Kit's throat, choking him.

Until a blue blade lit the darkness and stopped millimeters from his throat. Aayla stood in front of him, shivering in the snow.

Madness burned in Cirus' eyes. 'We will all die. All of us. You have made sure of that little one. My brethren will find us and slaughter both of you. And I for my failure.'

The blade edged closer to Cirus' throat. 'Your will lead us to wjere your little pals live. And I have a sneaking suspicion that it's somewhere on this side of the planet.'

Cirus spat into the snow. 'Why would I help my mortal enemy and walk right into my execution?'

Kit staggered to his feet massaging his throat. He shook icicles 'Well for one thing,' he croaked, his huge eyes piercing the darkness. 'There are a large number of evil looking creatures coming this way. And they're hungry.'

Aayla submersed herself in the Force and found it. Found them. Found the overwealming presence of darkness, the brutal mindset of _KILL KILL KILL! _The Doashim. Nightmare creatures from the subterranean depths of Ryloth. And they were closing in.

_That's impossible, _thought Aayla, _Doashim rarely venture above ground and in such numbers. _She took her blade away from Cirus' neck, waving it in the darkness, as if warding off an invisible enemy. Through the darkness they appeared. Reptillian, demonic shapes moving as swiftly through the snow, almost gliding.

Cirus staggered to his feet. He gulped. 'Run.' They ran. For their lives. And the pack of Doashim followed. Moving in for the kill.

Cirus sprinted ahead of the two Jedi, through the darkness, never looking back. Aayla and Kit followed blindly, trying to escape the hunters. Cirus heard the rapid squelching sounds in the snow as the Doashim drew nearer. They were trying to surround them. Like it or not he did need the Jedi. Even his murderous cousin.

A roar split the air like avibroblade through durasteel. The doashim were starting their battle cries. Cirus new there wasn't much time left. He couldn't see in the darkness, he doubted if even the huge eyed Nautolan Jedi could see properly. But the Force flowed through Cirus' body, tainted as it was, it guided them down the icy hills to a long shallow crevasse in the ice, about ten feet deep, a few meters wide. A network of lines in the ice and snow, as if a river had flowed there long ago. Several tunnels and caverns had been dug in the side of the crevasse. They needed to get to those tunnels.

Another roar. Cirus, Aayla and Kit were mere meters from the network of lines. 'They've caught us!' roared Kit.

A pack of reptilian monsters, standing on two long muscled legs, tails lashing behind them,broke through the darkness, directly into the groups ragged path. Another came up from behind. These Doashim were more intelligent that they appeared. They roared, clawing at the light from Kit and Aayla's blades. Judging from the screeches coming from all round, a whole pack of them were on their way.

The first one went for Cirus, but never faltering, kept on running right under the Doashim's claw as it swiped for him. He could fight later. Leave the fighting to the ones with blades. Right now, he had to survive. With a Force powered dive Cirus leapt into the crevasse. He kept on going, rushing through the line of cracks, he had to find the right tunnel. The secret path to his brethren.

Meanwhile, the two Jedi collided with the Doashim in a tangled mass of light and dark. Aayla barely avoided the whirlwind of snapping jaws, gritting her teeth as the barely healed gash in her side constricted her breathing. The Doashim attacking her lunged again, only to have a hole cleaved in it's skull by a lightsaber, cutting through the hard scalesas if they were paper. Whirling around she plunged her blade into the throat of a Doashim about to crush her head with it's jaws. Panting with exhaustion, Aayla turned around to lookfor Cirus. _That little slug! He left us behind with these monsters! _Aayla felt around in the Force, searching for Cirus. She saw Kit, with a slash of his green blade, sever both of his doashim's legs. And in the dim blue light of her own blade, she saw over a score of Doashim all round, closing in, only meters away.

'Kit! Into the crevasse! NOW!'

Kit turned, his multiple head tentacles whipping out in the freezing wind. With a curt nod he followed Aayla into the crevasse. Kit turned around one last time, he had to buy them some time. He raised his arm at the ravenous beasts closing in on them, gathering all of his strength, and sent a blast of the Force at the Doashim. They screeched in surprise as they tumbled backwards through the snow. With his signature grin, Kit darted into the crevasse, following Aayla.

Aayla twisted through the winding crevasses, Kit close behind. She was heading towards the beacon of Dark power that was Cirus Secura. She gritted her teeth as the Doashim roared as they swarmed into the crevasse, hunting there quarry.

They were coming nearer to Cirus, Aayla felt it. Not noticing that Kit had fallen behind, fighting off a pair of reptilian monsters.She turned another corner and saw Cirus on the ground, eyes rolling backwards in pain as blood spurting from his arm from a ragged bite mark, to his right was a tunnel in the wall. A Doashim stood over the injured Twi'lek. Without a moments hesitation, Aayla lunged forward, thrusting her sword through it's spine and out of it's stomach. The Doashim collapsed to the ground, stomach juices dripping out. Aayla dragged the half conscious Cirus and dragged him into the tunnel.

'Kit, in here!' Kit backed into the tunnel, Aayla covering him as the Doashim screamed for blood. Bodies began to pile up at the mouth of the tunnel. Blood dripped down from a cut in Aayla's forehead, mixing with her sweat.. Her leg almost buckled under her own weight as her body screamed in pain after every movement. They couldn't hold much longer against this many monsters. Even Kit's smile was beginning to fade.

Cirus hoisted himself to his feet. She had saved him. Even after he almost killed her in Coruscant. Cirus sighed. He hated being honourable. 'Move back!'

He reached into the Force, worming his way through an intricate network of cracks in the mouth of the tunnel, widening them. The tunnel began to shake. Rocks and icicles crumbled down from the ceiling. With a final heave of the Force, the mouth of the tunnel collapsed, ice thundering down, crushing the Doashim into the ground, narrowly missing Aayla and Kit. Cirus collapsed back to the ground panting.


	5. Chapter 5: Into the Darkness

**Chapter 5**

The tunnel was even darker than outside it. Outside, there was light from the stars, from the crystal plants. But inside the tunnel was pitch black. Lit by the glow of lightsabers.

Aayla was afraid. Not of the Doashim, not of the darkness or the freezing cold, but the fact that she _admired_ the Doashim's driven intensity. Their anger that gave them power. She had always sought after strength in the light. Perhaps that in Ryloth, the answer lay in the darkness?

She shook the thought out of her head and tried to occupy herself with something else. Aayla threw a concerned look at the Cirus who was still lying on the ground, blood flowing freely. She knelt down to his side and pulled out a med-pac, grabbing some spray bandage. Groggily, Cirus pushed her away. 'No…' he groaned, 'Not you. I've lost enough dignity already.' Aayla shrugged and tossed the spray bandage to Kit. He caught it and began applying it on Cirus' arm. Cirus didn't struggle.

Aayla paced around as Kit applied the bandage. 'First things first. Thanks.'

Cirus spat blood on the ground and glared up at Aayla. 'You saved my life after I tried to kill you. So I saved yours. And now I can kill you again.'

Aayla shrugged and said, 'Seems reasonable enough. Now, second thing, why in the name of the Force did you trap us in this tunnel that goes to the Force knows where? And why did such a large number of Doashim come above ground? Last time I heard, they were subterranean creatures.'

'We have been using the tunnels for….business. We couldn't have monsters roaming around at every turn could we? So we flushed them out. The Doashim have been hunting above ground now, in packs,' Said Cirus.

'And who are _we_?'

Cirus stiffened. Then he relaxed and with a little chuckle, tapped his lekku slyly. 'That's for me to know and for you to find out. And find out you will, soon enough.'

At that moment, Kit finished applying the bandage on Cirus' arm. 'There!' Kit took Cirus by the arm and helped him to his feet, though keeping his blade ready.

Cirus pushed Kit away began walking groggily through the darkness. With a scowl, Aayla followed, Kit close behind. 'Where are you going?' asked Aayla.

'I'm taking you to my clan.' Cirus replied simply. The trio continued to walk blindly along the tunnel, twisting and turning along it's length. There seemed to be a whole network of tunnels.

……………………….

As they were walking, Kit whispered to Aayla, 'Are you sure we can trust him? And why are we even going to their headquarters? There could be hundreds of them, all as skilled as Cirus.'

'We have to get to the bottom of this, Kit. And my feelings tell me that following Cirus is the right way.'

Kit shrugged and they trudged on. 'You and your feelings.'

They walked solemnly through the darkness for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, through the darkness, Aayla saw a light at the end of the tunnel. _Am I dead?_

Cirus held out his hand for them to stop. 'We're here. The meeting point.'

He walked into the light. Kit and Aayla shot each other uneasy looks and they followed.

They stood in a large cavern of ice and rock, several tunnels seemed to lead there. The light came from a blanket of glowing crystal plants that covered the roof, illuminating the cavern. In the middle of the cavern floor were three beings. With lightsabers.

The one in the middle, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward. He was a Twi'lek male with bleached white skin and piercing red eyes. He was clad in black clothing, a contrast to his white skin and stood shorter than Cirus at six and a half feet tall. Aayla and Kit lingered back, with there lightsabers held up in guard, as Cirus stepped forward to address the Twi'lek. The Twi'leks companians, a horned Zabrak, his face tattooed and a tall heavily muscled human man, glared at the two Jedi.

The Twi'lek stared blankly at Cirus as he stepped forward.

'Lord Gahnn Ta'a,' Cirus said formally to the him in Twi'leki. 'Our attempt has failed. But I managed to bring these Jedi to you and-….'

Cirus words turned into a gurgle as Gahnn thrust three fingers into Cirus' exposed throat, three times. Cirus bent over coughing and Gahnn quickly pinched one lekku. The lekku, houses a Twi'leks brains and grabbing or hitting them could immobilize almost any Twi'lek. Cirus stiffened and Gahnn kicked him savagely in the face. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Aayla gasped in shock and Kit bounded forward, landing in front of Cirus, his blade held in a Shi'Cho ready stance.

Gahnn hadn't shown one hint of emotion while he attacked Cirus. Softly he said, as if talking to himself, 'We can not tolerate failure….' His lightsaber was in his hand before anyone could blink. A purple blade, like Mace Windu's jetted out.

The Zabrak and the human's own blades ignited. One orange, one yellow. Aayla noted to herself that they could not be the Sith. Sith only carried red blades.

Aayla was at Kit's side in a blur of speed. She held her blade in the two handed grip of Ataru. Gahnn Ta'a sighed and pointed his amethyst blade at her. 'Do not meddle in business that is not yours young one. I would regret if I would be forced to kill you. Accompany us to the Fortress. You would be a valued asset among our clan. Unfortunately, we will have to kill your green friend here.'

Aayla glared at him, ingoring the fear pounding in her ears. 'I am a Jedi Knight. Stopping low lives like you is my business. I will not let you harm anyone. Lay down you arms.'

'Very well,' sighed Gahnn. 'I promise that your deaths shall be quick and as painless as possible.'

Aayla scowled. 'And I too.'

Kit dragged the unconscious Cirus to the side and sat him up on a stalagmite. Away from the battle that would soon ensue. He returned to Aayla's sides. Gahnn and the other two formed a circle around the duo. Kit twitched his head in the direction of the Zabrak and the human. 'I'll take those two.' Aayla nodded.

'That leaves one for me,' she said grimly.

Fires lit in Gahnn's eyes. A violet blade twitched. A whirlwind of light exploded into life, and the battle began.

Kit met the Zabrak's strike with a sidewards sweep, moving the orange blade away, and he moved back avoiding the brutish human's yellow blade with an inclination of his head. The Nautolan Jedi was a master of the simplistic and traditional art of Shii-Cho. The fighting style was born from the traditional sword fighting and was the basis for all of the Jedi fighting forms. It lacked the style and flair of the other forms, but that was Shii-Cho's power. It's sheer simplicity. Kit's opponents lunged, trying to overwhelm him with a blurring whirl of slashes. A simple block and a quick slash stopped them in their tracks.

Aayla's vision exploded into purple light. Gahnn's face remained expressionless as he cut at her with his blade, forcing her backwards. Aayla parried and kicked him backwards, trying to get a breath. Her foot collided with a wall of muscle. Gahnn ploughed on, blade moving at blinding speed.

Aayla met his strike and backed away. Her back hit rock. The cavern wall. She cursed herself, Gahnn had backed her into a corner. Face expressionless and eyes blazing with dark light, Gahnn slashed repeatedly, each strike stronger than the last. Aayla felt her back hit the wall repeatedly as she was forced back from the strength of each of Gahnn's strike. Desperately, she tried to find away to move away from the wall, but Gahnn blocked her off, never ceasing his attack. Aayla felt her arm almost give way to the strength of his attack. But it was all melting away. Aayla shed off layer after layer of her consciousness into the Force, she submerged herself in it's depths, letting it guide her, move her. She couldn't tell if it was light or dark.

Gahnn slashed forward again, Aayla was weakening, her injuries from her fight with Cirus were barely healed. If she met the strike, her arm would surely have been forced away. But she didn't have to. The purple blade slashed into the wall, sparks flying out. Aayla dropped down to the ground and rolled under Gahnn's leg. A slight hint of shock registered in his eyes as Aayla's leg swept across the ground and took the ground out from under him. He barely managed to roll away from her downwards stab. Gahnn leapt to his feet, only to be forced backwards by Aayla's blade, whirling faster than the eye could see. He could feel Aayla's presence, floating in the river of the Force. And it was moving towards the darkness. This wasn't going according to plan. Time to start being clever.

Their blades flashed through the air, faster than ever. Gahnn cut swiftly at Aayla's legs, drawing her into an overhead leap, moving faster than the eye could see. But Gahnn wasn't there anymore. He slipped over to the side and aimed another sharp cut at the back of Aayla's leg. She span her blade to her back, blocking the strike. This was the opening Gahnn needed. He shot his leg out, catching Aayla in the side of the head. Stars exploded in her mind and she went airborne from the power of the kick, landing heavily on the hard stone ground. Dark power swirled around Gahnn and he raised his arms towards the ceiling above Aayla. Several sharp cracks sounded. A cloud of icicles rained down from the sky. Heading right towards her.

Aayla rolled aside, narrowly avoiding a razor sharp icicle, centimeters from her head. Her heart thudded in her chest. That was too close. Before she could get up, a violet blade sliced down at her. Aayla rolled to the side, acting on pure instinct. She aimed a leg sweep across the ground towards Gahnn, but this time he easily jumped over it, striking down again. Aayla avoided his blade, just barely, moving like flowing water. She leapt to her feet, but Gahnn's blade was everywhere, slicing around her, Aayla struggled to parry his strikes, but his blade flashed out, and grazed her across the arm. She winced at the burning pain and was forced to give ground, narrowly avoiding a vicious thrust. Gahnn maneuvered her expertly backwards, using precise cuts and slashes. They fought their way to another tunnel, Aayla cursed herself, Gahnn was forcing her into close quarters, with no room to maneuver, she couldn't defeat him on pure skill.

Aayala backed into the tunnel, giving more and more of herself into the Force. Blue and purple flashed in the darkness, scoring the walls of the tunnels. Aayla slashed frantically at Gahnn, trying to fight her way back to the light at the end of the tunnel. Gahnn blocked her slash, and their blades locked together. Aayla struggled, trying to push Gahnn back, but with impossible strength, Gahnn hurled Aayla backwards, her back colliding with the icy wall of the tunnel. She moved aside just in time to avoid a slash that would have otherwise decapitated her. The light was too far away, and it was getting farther. Aayla had to accept the darkness. Accept her shadows. With a deep breath, Aayla pushed aside her Jedi restraint and gave in to her fear, her anger, and channeled it through her lightsaber. Now, the real battle was beginning.

Kit frantically blocked a barrage of yellow and orange strikes from both his opponents. He backpedaled furiously, blade flashing green. In the corner of his eye, he saw Aayla avoiding a shower of icicles and being forced into a tunnel. He cursed himself and tried to move away to help her. But the Zabrak blocked his path, slashing at his head. Kit ducked under the blade, and launched a counter attack, letting the Force flow through him.

His opponents fought with blistering speed and power, but they lacked skill and they flourished unnecessarily, showing off. And that was what Kit was counting on.

He struck with a renewed vigor; whirling and knocking both his opponent's blades aside. Shii-Cho was a more raw and Force-based style than most, and it was showing in this battle. Kit pushed the Zabrak's blade aside and used the Force to send him spinning backwards, crashing into a stalagmite. The stalagmite cracked in half from the impact, and the Zabrak warrior slumped to the ground limply.

With a growl, the human pressed his attack on Kit. He slammed his blade forward, battering against Kit's guard. Kit met his attack, slowly gaining the upper hand though the human didn't notice it. The human growled as Kit refused to yield and slashed wildly, anger growing. Kit just grinned, though inside he churned with worry for Aayla, and parried his strike. The human began to grow even more frustrated and begin improvising maneuvers, combining the most complicated series of attacks he knew. That was just the opening Kit needed. His green blade flashed out, and cut through the human's skin, cutting through muscle and bone. A hand fell to the ground smoking. The human howled and he fell down to his knees clutching at the cauterized stump that was once his hand.

Kit stood over the human panting. Now to get to Aayla. Suddenly, a nudge of the Force warned him of danger, and he whirled around blade up. A second too slow. An orange blade sheered across his shoulder and down his back as he turned. The Zabrak glared at him, grinning. Kit's lightsaber clattered to the ground and he collapsed, his mind going dark with pain. Kit tried to struggle to his feet, but the pain grew too intense to ignore. At that moment, a dark tidal wave surged it's way into the Force, engulfing Kit in it's icy depths. 'Aayla?' he whispered. Then he fell back to the ground, eyes closed.

Aayla's world was darkening. All around her was the darkness, lit by the glow of flashing lightsabers, blue and purple. Terror began to cloud her senses.

Aayla and Gahnn's blades flashed even faster, walls of light colliding with each other. Aayla was now as much Gahnn as he was her. Their minds blended together, struggling for control. Aayla parried Gahnn's blade and both of them whipped to the side, blades crashing against each other. Fear fueled her blade. The time for running was over. Fear would be her ally. The darkness, her weapon. Aayla gave herself to the Force, to the dark side. Now was the time to destroy her enemy. Finally, Aayla was accepting her destiny.

Dark power flooded through Aayla's system and it carried her away from Gahnn's blade, her feet running up against the wall and flipping backwards. She landed behind Gahnn, stand struck, powered by the Force. Gahnn barely blocked her blade and stepped to the side, swinging at her head. Aayla avoided the blow and stepped back, blade flashing. She struck over and over again, blade blurring into a steady pattern. Gahnn was forced back, step by step, by the ferocity of her attack. Her blade shot out and scorched his leg. Only by moving slightly to the left, did he save himself from being cut in half. His back met hard rock as a hard kick forced him back. An unfamiliar feeling flooded his mind. It was fear.

A primal scream roared into Aayla's mind, born from the dark, but it didn't escape her lips. It vibrated through the Force, like a wave of darkness. Aayla's blade sped up, until Gahnn couldn't match her speed anymore, his guard faltered, and Aayla struck, her blade slicing though the air in a deadly arc. Gahnn's arm fell limp to the ground, sizzling, separated from his body. He staggered forward, eyes clouded over with pain, and Aayla's blade pierced through his chest, exiting from his back.

Gahnn gaped at Aayla, who seemed to have just come out of a trance and seemed just as shocked as he was. Gahnn's eyes glossed and he pitched forward against Aayla, staring with eyes that didn't see anymore.

Aayla's blade shrank back into the emitter and she let Gahnn fall lifeless to the tunnel floor. His eyes seemed to stare at her accusingly. She stared at her quivering hand, in shock. Her eyes closed, as if in pain. _What have I become?_

She leant heavily on the cage wall, and started to sob softly. She was now a creature of the dark. A monstershe had sworn to destroy. She had gone down this path before. Her Master, Quinlan Vos had barely managed to turn her back to the light. And she knew, this time there was no turning back. Suddenly, she felt a wave of pain make it's way through the Force. 'Oh no' she said to herself. 'Kit.' With a final glance at Gahnn's corpse, Aayla rushed away, dread welling up inside her.

Aayla reentered the cavern, and gasped when she saw what was inside. Nothing. Nothing but a lightsaber handgrip laying abandoned in the middle of the cavern. Kit and Cirus were gone. She walked over to the handgrip and bent over, picking it up. 'I'm sorry Kit,' she whispered. It was her fault. She was the one who lead him to Ryloth. It was her idea to go in the first place. But both of her companions were alive, she felt it. They had been abducted.

Aayla clipped Kit's blade to her belt and sighed heavily. 'I swear by the Force, I will find you. Both of you.' Aayla began to walk away to a tunnel, hunched over as if she carried the entire planet on her shoulders. She disappeared into the darkness.

**Reviews please! Next chapter will be about Wrath the Devaronian. I'll be sure to make it action packed!**


	6. Chapter 6: Tour Guide

**Chapter 6**

**Tharkeen City, Ryloth**

Tharkeen City was a subterranean city like many of the settlements on Ryloth. It was colder than most, as it was situated at the very edge of the border between the habitable regions and the Night Side. The city was lit by hordes of genetically modified Ice Crystal plants that dimmed and brightened every 30 or so hours to give the impression of day and night. Tharkeen was infamous for the number of slavers and off worlders that resided there, mostly spending there time in the various bars and casinos.

In one of these bars, filled with roaring and laughing off worlders, a lone hooded figure sat silently on a stool, slowly sipping his drink and staring intently at a Rylothean ice gnat crawling in front of him. He seemed to be waiting for something. A portly green skinned male Twi'lek sitting near him, got up and walked over. He reached into his cloak and began talking to the loner in heavily accented basic.

'So…your not from hear, eh? Vosk show you around, I'm good at that, I can show you where you get all the good slaves, where the best drinks are. What do you say?'

The lone figure chuckled deeply and slowly lowered his hood, revealing two vicious looking devil horns protruding from a red tinged forehead. The Twi'lek gasped in horror and drew back.

'Vosk Arisith. Long time no see. I see your still running that touring scam,' grinned Wrath.

The Twi'lek, Vosk, bolted in the other direction, pushing past the crowd with a look of sheer horror on his face. Wrath slowly got up from his seat with a sigh, and in an instant, a blaster bolt, set on stun, collided with the fleeing Twi'lek's leg, sending him crashing to the ground. Behind him, another Twi'lek eyed Wrath menacingly. He reached for his blaster but suddenly screamed in pain as his hand was transfixed to the table by a shivering Vibro-dagger. He looked up to see the hideous pig like face of a Gamorrean grinning down at him.

Wrath holstered his smoking pistol and walked calmly over to where Vosk lay on the floor, clutching convulsively at his smoking, but still intact leg. Wrath dragged him to his feet and dusted him off with a seemingly friendly grin. Suddenly, his expression turned to one of range and he lifted the terrified Twi'lek clear off the ground by the front of his shirt before slamming him against the wall with brutal force.

'You think I've forgotten after all of these years Vosk? How you cheated me out of my bounty and took all the money for yourself? Well you know what?'

Wrath snarled and glared at Vosk straight in the eye. He saw the fear in them.

'I always hold a grudge.'

Vosk gasped for breath, almost sobbing in fear. 'I…I sorry! You gotta learn to get over things you know?'

Wrath grinned a predator's grin. 'I might….if you tell me something about young Cirus Secura. Y'see, he and a few pals of his seem to have crash landed on the Night Side of this gods forsaken rock you call a planet. And I'm betting you know where they're headed.'

Vosk started to look even more afraid. 'No way, no way, Vosk ain't wanting NOTHING to do with the Dark Blizzard. NOTHING!' His eyes flitted around, frantically searching for an escape route as a pair of Gamorreans loomed up behind Wrath. They held an array of menacing weapons and were looking at Vosk like he was their new chew toy.

'Dark Blizzard. They're like some kind of revolutionist clan, got some crazy idea bout 'a truly free galaxy' and 'the coming of the dark saviour'. They have some kind of deep underground night side fortress. Uh uh, I need to keep my head out of their business if I want to keep it on my shoulders.'

Wrath pressed his gleaming pistol under Vosk's chin.

'Do I look like I'm about to let you keep it either?'

Vosk gulped and slowly shook his head.

Wrath grinned malevolently. 'And that's why whether you like it or not, your gonna hall your scum infested ass down those tunnels and take me and my men to our bounty. Are we clear?'

A bead of sweat trickled down Vosk's forehead. 'Yes.' Wrath released the quivering Twi'lek and with out warning, shot a blaster bolt into the roof. It bounced around, narrowly missing a cursing mercenary.

'None of you saw anything. And if you did, I'll personally make sure that not a single one of you lives to tell anyone.'

Without another word, Wrath wheeled around and stalked out the door as a pair of Gamorreans roughly dragged Vosk along with them. Wrath muttered under his breath, 'No crack pot bunch of tentacle headed jerks are gonna steal the prize of the greatest bounty hunter in the world.'

Vosk looked up briefly at the Devaronian's words. He gulped, knowing that soon enough, Wrath was going to regret them.

0000000000000000000

Kit's eyes slowly pried themselves forward as he returned to consciousness. He winced as his back screamed in pain. Kit tried to move his arms and legs but found that they were firmly bound to a wall with cold durasteel chains. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and he surveyed his surroundings.

Dark stone walls, lit by a single flickering light hanging from the roof were all that Kit saw. A few meters in front of him, a primitive heavy durasteel door stood engraved in the stone in front of the immobilized Jedi Knight.

Kit closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to remember what had happened. Flashes of memory…..a purple lightsaber….Aayla! Kit's eyes snapped open. What had happened to her? Had they taken her two? He began to weakly struggle against his bonds, still fatigued from the saber cut across his back. Then Kit remembered. The wave of darkness. Aayla had fallen to the dark side. Kit sighed. This had gotten out of hand.

He lay slumped against the wall for a length of time, slowly contemplating his fate. Then the door creaked open. Kit snapped to attention, hand instinctively darting towards his belt. His hand groped around for his saber, but it wasn't there.

A woman sauntered through the gaping door way and stepped into the dim light in front of Kit. She was a female human, only about 22 or 23 years of age by Kit's reckoning. The woman wore a tight fitting night black jump suit that accentuated her slim figure, a contrast to her pale white skin. Longcrimson hair cascaded down to below her shoulders. A lightsaber handgrip hung from her waist. But her eyes were what struck Kit. The dull emerald orbs told a wordless story of such pain that Kit cringed. Those eyes were far too old for someone so young. They radiated the dark side.

For a while, the woman just stood there, perfectly still, her eyes burning into Kit's. After what seemed like an eternity, Kit finally spoke.

'Who…who are you? And what is this place?'

The woman continued staring at Kit and her lips parted to speak. 'You're not in a position to be asking questions, Master Jedi,' she whispered in a cold voice that echoed her dark surroundings. 'But nevertheless I will answer them. My name is Lucia. That is all you need to know about who I am. More will be revealed at a later time. And you are being held captive in the stronghold of the Dark Blizzard.'

Kit raised an eyebrow. 'The Dark Blizzard?'

Lucia shrugged. 'We are merely outcasts, shunned by society, who have banded together to bring an end to all of this war. This hatred brought on by your politics and your insatiable desire to have control over everything uncontrollable.' Lucia's face grew sadder. 'Even the Force.'

Kit grimaced. 'You're separatists. Even worse you're Sith.'

Lucia's look of sadness immediately transformed into one of anger. 'You're just like all of the other Republicans. You believe that everyone who wishes to be free is a Separatist. Not all people wish to follow the Republic's mindless control. '

'The Republic is all about spreading freedom. That is what we do. We create, order, control, civilization,' said Kit. Lucia shook her head with something that looked like pity and moved closer to Kit.

'Freedom. The Republic slogan,' she spat. 'And you enforce rules upon us, telling us how to live, trying to make us 'civilized'. Even you Jedi. You seek to control the Force, use it to 'bring peace to the galaxy. The Force isn't a tool. It is the embodiment of all that is free. It needs to control you. We are no Sith. There is no light no dark. Just freedom and oppression. You Jedi and you're false light are the true Dark Side. And answer me this Jedi, what does the Republic do when it's people don't want to be 'civilized'? When they want to live without the constraints of it's rules and 'justice'?' Lucia clenched a quivering fist. 'They crush them. This is how the war started. Can't you see that people want to be truly free? Without the shackles of society. And the Dark Blizzard is here to give it to them. Whether they want it or not. We will dismantle both the Separatists and the Galactic Republic. But we need your friend Aayla Secura.'

Kit looked up, alarmed. 'Aayla? How do you know her name? And what does she have to do with this?'

'We know her name as we do yours Kit Fisto. Your mind betrays more of you than your words. It seems….that many of us believe, that it is either your friend Aayla, or her cousin Cirus that is the Dark Saviour according to our prophecy. We already have Cirus, and now all we need is Aayla. We will capture her and test them both to see who will truly lead us.'

Kit glared at Lucia. 'Aayla would never join you and neither would I.'

Lucia looked at Kit with pity etched on her face and walked slowly forward and gently touched his chin with her long slender fingers. 'Oh no my Jedi friend, you are far too old. Too engraved with the Jedi way, your corrupted ideals. But Aayla on the other hand is young, and confused, much like I was. We will find a way just as we did with Cirus.'

Kit drew back. 'Then what do you want with me? I'm no use to you.'

'You would prefer that we kill you? No, you have your uses Kit. It seems that young Aayla is rather attached to you. And we will use that to our advantage. Then, and only then, we kill you.'

Without another word, Lucia moved away and walked out the door. It slammed shut.

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Vosk Arisith trudged through the darkness of the tunnels, arms held by two burly Gamorreans, their way lit by a shaft of light glimmering from a glow-stick. Behind the trio Wrath followed, eyes surveying all that happened around them, hand never far from his blaster.

'Are you sure you know where we're going? You better no be leading us to our deaths Arisith.' He said. Vosk merely shrugged and walked on, occasionally twisting across a corner. Wrath grumbled and followed close behind. Soon, the tunnels became gradually wider and wider, the walls were scratched and smeared with dark stains. A chill traveled up the Devaronian bounty hunter's neck as a twisted skeleton, propped up on a stalagmite, stared balefully at him with soulless dark sockets.

Suddenly, the Twi'lek stopped moving and stood stock still. One of the Gamorreans, looking puzzled, gently shoved Vosk as a signal to keep moving. Vosk didn't budge and motioned for his captors to be silent. The Gamorrean began to look angry and raised his ham like fist. Before it could crash down onto the Twi'lek's skull, a restraining hand caught the Gamorrean's wrist.

Wrath went to Vosk's side and whispered into his ear. 'What is it?' he said, an edge of uneasiness in the Devaronian's voice. Vosk slowly turned his head to face Wrath.

'Listen.'

Wrath listened closely, straining to hear any sound. Then he heard it. A low rumbling thumping sound. It was getting louder. He hissed into the terrified Twi'lek's ear. 'What the hell is that?'

Vosk gulped and bit his bottom lip to stop it from quivering. 'Well boss, we Twileks have this, how do you say it…..urban legend going around about a monster in the caves. Y'see, a while ago, some adventurers went into the caverns and only one came back, minus one arm. He was rambling on about some kind of evil monster eating all his mates and guarding some treasure. Some people went inside but no one could find anything. Some say it's a rogue Krayt dragon that managed to find it's way inside, or an oversized doashim.'

Wrath gripped Vosk's arm in a vice like grip. 'And is this Urban legend true?'

Vosk smiled weakly. 'Well, looks like we're going to find out whether we like it or not, huh boss?' His voice was drowned out by a deafening roar.


	7. Author's Note

_Author's Note:_

I'm REALLY REALLY sorry about the huge amout of lateness, I've just been really lazy and i couldn't bring myself to write. But now I've got some free time on my hands, and hopefully, a chapter will be up soon. Sorry.


	8. Chapter 7: Urban Legend

The entire tunnel began to shake as the beast, whatever it was, dragged itself towards dhen. Wrath whipped around and shone his glow stick as the dark hulking shadow drew nearer. The devaronian gulped as teh light burned away the shadows from the monster. Cracked, leathery skin. Huge arms. Razor sharp claws. It was a rancor.

The gammoreans squeeled in fear, their primal pig like natures began resurfacing. One bolted down the tunnel on all fours. The other stood pawing at the air and eyes glazed over. Wrath snapped out of his fear induced trance as the rancor let loose another primal roar. The devaronian pushed past the gamorrean who was still staring at the rancor, squealing in fear, and sprinted down the tunnel, desperate to put some distance between him and the rancor. Vosk ran along side him, almost tripping ove rhis own feet in desperate speed. The gamorrean who had fled first was nowhere to be seen.

The rancor closed in on the remaining gamorrean, drooling with the chance of a meal. The rancor reached out with it's clawed hand and the gamorrean panicked, slashing at the rancor with its vibroblade. The rancor roared in pain and anger as steaming hot blood streamed out of its injured hand. The gamorrean squealed and turned to run away, but it was far too late. The rancor wrapped its uninjured hand around the gamorrean. The gamorrean writhed, trying to get away and stabbed into the rancor's hand with his vibrodagger. The rancor growled and lifted the gamorrean high over its head before smashing it into the cave wall. There was a sickening sound of crunching bone, and the gamorrean layed still. The rancor growled in satisfaction and sniffed the air. There was more. More food. The rancor continued down the tunnel, hunting its prey.

Wrath and Vosk twisted around turn after turn with desperate speed as the walls of the tunnels closed in, growing smaller. They finally came to a stop at a dead end, and Vosk slumped down the rock wall, almost sobbing with fear and exhaustion. Wrath growled and kicked him, keeping his blaster ready.

"Get up, you idiot, we have to get out of here. That rancor could still be following us and I don't wanna be caught here."

Vosk looked up at Wrath and spat at his feet.

"The rancor will never find us here."

"Sure?"

"You don't trust me? I know these tunnels better than anyone. The rancor'll never look fer us here."

Wrath snorted and kicked at Vosk again.

"One. I don't trust you. Two. You're full of yourself. And three-

A roar interrupted Wrath mid sentence. It sounded close. The rumbling sound grew louder. Wrath glared at Vosk and hissed, pointing the blaster at his head.

"You idiot! The rancor found us!"

Vosk didn't have the strength to reply and pointed behind Wrath with a quivering finger.

Wrath turned around and almost screamed.

The rancor was draggin tiself down the tunnel, leaving a trail of its own blood as its skin rasped against the tunnel walls. The monster was much too large for the narrow tunnel, but its need for food was too desperate for that to stop it. Wrath cursed and squeeezed the trigger of his pistol. Blaster bolts slammed into the rancor's head and shoulders, causing it to scream in pain. Wrath emptied more bolts into the beast, but they only seemd to make the creature angry. The rancor slithered down the tunnel faster, it's claws scratching and leaving deep grooves in the stone. Wrath backed away, iring his blaster, his back pressed against the stone. Vosk began sobbing pitifully as their doom closed in.

The rancor was inched from the duo. Saliva dripped from its jaws as it closed in. Wrath squeezed his eyes shut as the beast's huge hand reached for him. Suddenly, just as its claws were about to slash out and grab Wrath, the rancor stopped, growled and began to drag itself back down out of the tunnel. Wrath kept his eyes shut and held his breath for a few minutes. His twi'lek companion did the same. Vosk and Wrath stood there in silence, until Vosk spoke up, keeping his eyes closed.

"Are we dead yet?"

The pair gingerly pried their eyes open, and found there was a slender twi'lek female standing before them, a blade of blue ligh in her hand. Aayla smiled.

"No. You're not dead. Not yet, anyway."

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**Really, sorry for the wai everyone. REEEEEEEEAAAAALLY. I just had a lot of shit on my plate.**


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